Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, left, is concerned that a measure championed by Ohio Sen. Rob Portman to combat sex trafficking could have unintended consequences and make it more difficult to pursue traffickers. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Lawmakers championing a bipartisan bill to make it easier to go after sex trafficking on the internet are on the verge of victory.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, says the chamber will vote on a resolution calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Yemen this week, the same time Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud will be in the United States. Saudi Arabia has increasingly found itself bogged down in the Yemeni civil war. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Russia’s actions in the Middle East and South Asia are among the most-pressing topics President Donald Trump wants to discuss with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud when they huddle Tuesday, and an upcoming vote in the Senate on Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Yemen could add to the agenda as well.

Trump and Salman — who has rocketed up the leadership totem pole of Saudi Arabia’s royal family — are scheduled to meet at the White House for a mini-summit. A senior administration official told reporters Monday that along with Russia’s often double-dealing in the region, trying to “push” Saudi leaders to seek a serious political solution to the conflict in Yemen and combating Iran will be atop the agenda.

The United States Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on December 1, 2016. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

The Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers to block a new congressional map ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

The decision to turn down the application for stay killed the GOP’s final hope to block the lines drawn by the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court after it ruled the Republican-controlled General Assembly’s 2011 map represented an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

President Donald Trump answers questions from the media on March 13 before heading to California to view prototypes of his proposed Southern border wall. He said Monday the barrier would “keep the damn drugs out.” (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

A Southern border wall. Steel and aluminum tariffs for some of the United States’ closest allies. And now, the death penalty for drug traffickers.

President Donald Trump added the latter Monday to his growing list of hardline policy proposals. He delivered a message of getting “tough” in Manchester, New Hampshire, but he acknowledged the American people might not be ready to make some major drug offenses capital crimes.

The DSCC is timing this latest advertising, shared first with Roll Call, to the rough one-year anniversary of when the GOP-controlled Congress started trying to repeal the 2010 health care law during the spring of 2017.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, is one of several moderate Democrats in the chamber who have notched key legislative victories under President Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Moderate Senate Democrats on the ballot in 2018 are racking up a number of key legislative victories in advance of what is expected to be a bitter midterm election cycle.

The successes, on bills ranging from veterans’ issues to bank regulation and tax credits for so-called clean coal technology, are the kind that can drive support among voters in the rural states that many of these members call home.

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., is among the lawmakers listed as plaintiffs against the new congressional map in Pennsylvania. He is running for Senate in the Keystone State. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

A federal district court declined a long-shot request Monday from Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers to block a new congressional map as the 2018 elections near. The Supreme Court has yet to act on a similar request from the lawmakers.

Eight Republican House members from the Pennsylvania delegation joined Republican state lawmakers as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which a three-judge panel dismissed.

Students protested in front of the Capitol last week as part of a national walkout and called on Congress to act on gun violence prevention. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The pending fiscal year 2018 spending bill will not address a perceived ban on the federal government conducting research into gun violence, according to congressional aides.

Whether any other gun control measures are added to the spending bill, expected to be released Monday evening, remains an open question. Aides said no final decision has been made yet whether to include Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn’s legislation related to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.